CULTURE
Arts event to open
An annual event aimed at promoting cultural and arts exchanges between Taiwan and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region will begin in Taipei next week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The Asia-Pacific Culture Day will open on Sept. 6 and, despite the name, will run for two days, featuring music, dance and handicrafts from participating countries throughout the region, the ministry’s Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs deputy director-general Bob Chen (陳龍錦) said. Participating countries will set up booths to introduce their cultures and products, Chen said. Performances will include modern and traditional dances from Japan, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands, along with South Korean percussion performances, he said. The annual event is to be held at Huashan 1914 Creative Park, the ministry said.
EDUCATION
Universities plan league
Top universities in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore are set to form the “Pine League” in an effort to strengthen their partnership and promote academic, arts and sports exchanges, National Taiwan University (NTU) said on Monday. The universities are NTU; China’s Peking University and Tsinghua University; the University of Hong Kong; and the National University of Singapore. NTU said the universities, ranked the top five in the Chinese-speaking world, are all interested in pushing for the league to promote information exchange and cooperation. NTU president Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池) said the league’s proposed name was inspired by pine trees being a symbol of perseverance, because they usually live for many years. He said the five universities are hoping to work together to contribute to society.
ENTERTAINMENT
S Korean actress to visit
South Korean actress Ha Ji-won will begin a tour of Asia by meeting fans in Taiwan in October, South Korean media said, citing Ha’s representative agency, Haewadal Entertainment. The 36-year-old star gained popularity in the nation for her portrayal of the titular character in the South Korean period TV drama Empress Ki. She played the Korean wife of the last emperor of China’s Yuan Dynasty. In other news, Japanese all-female pop group HKT48 announced that it is set to hold its first concert in Taiwan in December. The concert is to be held at the ATT Show Box in Taipei on Dec. 7. The group was created in 2011 by Japanese record producer Yasushi Akimoto, who also produced the AKB48 franchise.
CULTURE
Poetry show unveils lineup
This year’s Taipei Poetry Festival will feature renowned Japanese poet Shuntaro Tanikawa, among more than 30 writers from home and abroad, organizers said yesterday. At a seminar during the festival, Tanikawa, 83, will speak about his work, said Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs, which is organizing the festival. The festival, scheduled to run from Oct. 18 until Nov. 2, will also screen a documentary on Tanikawa, one of Japan’s most popular poets, the organizers said. Tanikawa, born in Tokyo, is quite prolific, having written more than 70 collections of poetry, the department said. It said Oksana Lutsyshyna of Ukraine, Joe Dunthorne of the UK and several Taiwanese poets will also be among the participating writers. The festival will include speeches, film screenings and music performances at venues around Taipei to present poetry in different ways, the organizers said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS